Choc and Awe
Heading back from Montreal late the other night, I pulled up in front of the guard on the US side of the Quebec/Vermont border. He asked the usual questions, and then said, "Are you bringing anything back from Canada?" "Oh, just some Easter eggs," I said, breezily - and instantly regretted it. The hitherto somewhat somnolent agent sprang visibly alert. "Easter eggs?" he said, with a palpable menace in his voice. "Not Kinder eggs," I replied, trying very hard not to roll my eyes. "Just regular ... |
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Defend Free Speech!Medieval Moralists
As part of its just launched free-speech campaign, Spiked! over in London has a big piece on Brandis. That's not a misspelling for Brandeis, the supposed scholarly institution that reminds us that, as Kate McMillan likes to say, the opposite of diversity is university. No, Brandis is George Brandis, QC, the Attorney-General of Australia. Mr Brandis introduced me when I spoke in Brisbane in Queensland two years ago, and I was very touched not by anything he said about me and my free-speech ... The Hugh Hewitt ShowChicken Supremes
On yesterday's pre-Easter edition of the Hugh Hewitt show, Hugh and I discussed the Democratic Party candidate of 2052, Hillary Rodham Clinton's foreign-policy "legacy", and free-speech rights for showbiz celebrities. I also commented on the Virginia Supreme Court's decision to side with Michael E Mann over the American media, and not require him to release his emails... SteynPostsA Show of Contempt, at Home and Abroad
Happy Easter, Happy Passover. On this Good Friday, we mark the tenth anniversary of Mel's movie, and over the weekend we'll have something with a lighter touch. Caroline Glick, my old colleague from The Jerusalem Post, has a column using a very Steynian word, "The Disappearance of America's Will": The most terrifying aspect of the collapse of US power worldwide is the US's indifferent response to it. In Europe, in Asia, in the Middle East and beyond, America's most dangerous foes are engaging ... The Rush Limbaugh ShowLiving the Lies
I was honored to be back behind the Golden EIB Microphone today, while Rush is undergoing surgery in California. Here's a sampling of what we chewed over in the course of three hours... SteynPostsDon't Start Deleting Those Emails Just Yet, Mikey!
The Virginia Supreme Court favors Michael E Mann over the state's Freedom of Information Act SteynPostsNigels in the News
Notes around the Anglosphere: ~For American readers: Rush is having surgery tomorrow and it's my privilege to return to the Golden EIB Microphone to host America's Number One radio show. Three hours of substitute-host-level Excellence in Broadcasting starts live coast to coast at 12 noon Eastern/9am Pacific. ~For Aussie readers: My cover story on freedom of expression in this week's Speccie can be read here. I'm increasingly struck by how little the cause of free speech resonates these days ... Steyn on the WorldThe "Safe Space" is Where Cultures Go to Die
I'm back in The Spectator this week in both Australia and the United Kingdom. Down Under, as you can see, I'm the cover story; in the Mother Country, I take second billing to God and Richard Dawkins (not sure who gets top billing between them). It's an overview of recent free-speech issues, from California to Canberra... SteynPostsThe Plains of Bureaustan
The Bureau of Land Management rules the 26th largest country on earth SteynPostsThe Pasture is Prologue
The photo at right is from the showdown between the Bundy family and the Bureau of Land Management, which is to Nevada as the Red Army is to Eastern Ukraine... |
Ten Years AgoThe Passion Of The Christ
We're opening our weekend movie a little early this week, in time for Good Friday. On Saturday night we'll have another seasonal entertainment for you, but this Easter marks the tenth anniversary of the release of Mel Gibson's blockbuster so we thought we'd mark the occasion. Mel has spent the last decade getting a little crazier with every year that passes, and, surprisingly, there have been no attempts to follow the success of this film. But back in 2004 it was impressive not just ... Defend Free Speech!The Clash of Sticks
Today, a decision is expected from the Virginia Supreme Court re "hockey stick" climate alarmist Michael E Mann's continued attempts to obstruct access to his data. A bunch of big media - NPR, The Washington Post et al - have filed briefs opposing Mann and the University of Virginia because they understand that a victory for him would be a massive defeat for freedom of information that would more or less gut the law in that state. Likewise, were he to prevail in the upcoming Mann vs Steyn trial of the century at the DC Superior Court, it would be the biggest setback for the First Amendment in the half-century since New York Times vs Sullivan... One Year AgoNo Islam to See Here
Exactly twelve months ago, on April 15th 2013, at 3.35pm, I wrote in a short post: "There are reports of two huge blasts and multiple serious injuries at the finish of the Boston Marathon." Herewith, a few excerpts from what I wrote in the days that followed... Steyn's Song of the WeekRock Around The Clock
Six decades ago - April 12th 1954 - a chubby-faced kiss-curled man pushing 30 with a backing group named after a theory published in Synopsis Astronomia Cometicae in 1705 went into the recording studio at the Pythian Temple on West 70th Street in New York and sang a song written by a man born in the 19th century: One, two, three o'clock, four o'clock rock! Five, six, seven o'clock, eight o'clock rock! Nine, ten, eleven o'clock, twelve o'clock rock! We're gonna Rock! Around! The Clock tonight... ... Mark at the MoviesKill Bill, Volumes 1 and 2
Ten years ago this month Quentin Tarantino unveiled the second part of his Kill Bill double-bill. He wasn't making a lot of movies in those days. Kill Bill was his first picture since Jackie Brown six years earlier. I'm not the biggest fan of Tarantino, and I think he's almost incapable of engaging you in narrative drama rooted in real characters, but Kill Bill has moments that have stuck with me over the years... Mark's MailboxWrong, Said Fred
Readers weigh in on Mann vs Steyn, Brandeis vs Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Mozilla vs Brenda Eich, and the Bureau of Land Management vs the First Amendment Mann vs SteynFootball and HockeyThe Corner post that launched a lawsuit... |
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